It’s unusual for Tyra and her judges to send home the defending challenge champion on America’s Next Top Model, but, unfortunately for Kacey, the 20-year-old dance teacher from Palmdale, CA, they made an exception last night. AfterKacey had wowed the crowd at the Covergirl challenge but failed to connect in her photo shoot with Patrick Demarchelier, she was the sixth girl eliminated from the competition–whileAnn, who bombed the challenge but aced the shoot, got her fifth consecutive win.

I had the chance to chat with Kacey today about her time on Top Model, including the drama surrounding her in the house, why she was so devastated to get eliminated, and who she thinks should be crowned America’s Next Top Model and cover Italian Vogue. Here’s what she had to say:

Congratulations on making it on this cycle, and making it as far as you did. How are you feeling?

I’m feeling good. I know I have so much more to come. So I’m feeling good.

I’m glad to hear that. We saw you take the elimination pretty hard, so now that you’ve had some time, are you feeling a little bit better about it?

Yeah, because I was so devastated, you have no idea. So hard. So hard.

Were you surprised? Was that an element of it?

Oh my gosh, I was so surprised. I know my photo shoot, it definitely wasn’t my best one. But just considering the fact that I had won the challenges, especially that Covergirl challenge, I definitely thought that was going to save me and be a cushion to fall on. So to know that it just didn’t even matter, really, that I won, it was surprising and shocking.

Right. You won this week’s challenge, and the week before. Was that frustrating to be doing so well in the challenges but not get that positive feedback in the photo shoots?

Yeah, exactly. I didn’t understand it. I know I fell flat or came up short in that last photo shoot, but as a whole, I don’t think that was the right time for me to go. I definitely think that winning challenges should have some value to it. What’s the point of winning if it doesn’t matter? And I really thought it did matter. But … nope!

There hasn’t been too much drama this season, but the drama we have seen has revolved around you. Can you give me any insight, from your perspective, as to what was going on in the house?

In the very beginning, right after we moved into the house, I ended up getting sick, so there was a lot of bonding that I missed. I was in bed for maybe three days, and I missed a lot of bonding. And another thing I can think of is, I was content and cool with not having a companion. I’m an independent person, I don’t need somebody to accompany me all the time. So that might have rubbed them the wrong way also. So those are the only reasons I can think of that they didn’t like me. Because I really don’t see a real, true reason on why I was disliked, or the hatred I was getting. It was just something deeper. I don’t know.

It was hard to tell on TV where it all started, so it’s interesting that you don’t really know, either.

It’s also just a sort of copy and paste thing. Once one girl feels so strongly, they all sort of gang up. It’s easy to gang up on somebody. If I was on the other side, I probably would have done it, too. You never know.

What’s it like watching those conflicts on TV?

It’s a little frustrating, because since I was there, I know how everything went down, verbatim, so for America to get bits and pieces of it, that’s frustrating. I just wish they saw everything and how it went down from before the fight to after the fight.

What is your take on Ann’s monopoly on the best photos this season?

She deserves it. I mean, if she’s producing the best photos, then heck yeah, she deserves it. But also, I’ll be honest and say, part of me does believe that she is getting best photo half because she’s producing the best pictures, and half because they’re trying to put some confidence in her. That girl, she really doesn’t know what she has. She’s such a good model, effortlessly, but she’s so down on herself that I think they’re trying to instill some confidence in her, like, “Girl, you have it.”

Did you see her blossoming in the confidence area at all?

Yeah. That’s just her personality, too. She’s not the type to brag or boast, but yeah, it should definitely boost her confidence. You’re getting the best out of the best every single week. It’s like, “Girl, you better recognize!” You know? So I think she was improving in that area.
If you were to choose who was going to win, who would you choose? Now that you’re out of the competition, I mean.

Yeah, I was going to say myself! [Laughs] No, I would choose Jane. She has it in the bag, and she doesn’t know it yet, either. If she was on Italian Vogue already, I’d be like, “Of course.” She just looks like working models today. She has it in the bag. I’m rooting for her.

You were paired with her during the Patrick Demarchelier shoot last night and said you were intimidated.

Yeah, because she’s just effortlessly beautiful.

What did you learn from this whole experience?

I learned a lot on the modeling aspect of it, just working with people and how things go behind the scenes. It’s time consuming, and I learned a lot of details on that side. I also learned to not be afraid to stand alone. That’s probably the biggest thing that I learned. If you’re riding solo, ride solo and be strong.

Are you going to keep modeling in the future?

Of course, I’ve got to model! It’s natural for me, it’s what I want to do. So of course, of course, of course, I’m going to model. I’m fortunate to be in the LA area, where a lot of it goes down, so I’m going to take advantage of that.

To learn more about Cycle 15‘s Kacey Leggett, visit her bio page here.

Kacey’s last week on America’s Next Top Model saw her beginning on a high as the winner of the CoverGirl challenge but ending in sadness as she was eliminated from the competition after failing to connect in a glitzy photoshoot with Patrick Demarchelier. We caught up with the Palmdale resident to find out what went wrong and why she faced so much hostility from her housemates…

You seemed inconsolable when Tyra called your name. Was it a shock to be going home?
“It was a definite shock to me; it was hard to understand. Before the anger came in it was definitely all sadness; I was broken down, I couldn’t breathe.”

You said that you would “never get over it” at the very end. Was that just in the heat of the moment?
“It was definitely in the moment. I seriously didn’t see anything beyond that point. Of course life goes on and you move on but yes I was like, ‘I’m never going to get over this!’ I meant that at the time, definitely.”

What did you think of Tyra’s suggestion that you just weren’t ready?
“I think at that time I was definitely as ready as I could be, I couldn’t see myself any more ready than what I was. But I will take her criticism; there is stuff I can work on. But it’s the same for the other girls there. Everyone needs to work on stuff, no-one there is perfect. Most of us came in straight, raw with no experience. I felt like we were all in the same boat with that, but I guess I need more practice on top of everybody else. It’s just something I will apply to myself and do.”

The panel said you were disconnected in your photos from the Rodeo Drive shoot. Do you agree?
“I do kind of agree with that. Taking so much direction from everybody I forgot to think about what works best for me. I did try to do the off-into-the-distance looks and looking off to the side and forgot to have a few frames where I am just connecting straight to the camera. It was just a lot of direction and I forgot what works for me and at the end of the day, that’s what makes a signature model.”

It’s interesting that you went home having won the CoverGirl challenge, while Ann won the best photo but lost the challenge…
“Ann is a sweetheart and she’s cool and everything. As a whole package she is perfect in the photoshoots and stuff but for her to lack in the CoverGirl I thought should be a red flag. Oh well!”

What do you think of her winning for a fifth week in a row?
“It was getting old after a while like, ‘Gosh, Ann!’ But you can’t knock her down and hate on her for getting first, good for her! But it was hard, for everybody else it was like, ‘Do we really suck that bad that nobody else can get first?’ (laughs) It was crazy.”

The shoot seemed pretty nerve-wracking with Tyra watching, Patrick taking the photos and all the crowds gathering around. How did you find it?
“It was definitely kind of overwhelming, especially if you are the nervous type. I tried to feed off everything that is going on; there was so much going on that it pumped you up and made you feel energetic but I fell through the cracks, unfortunately. Being in front of someone of Patrick’s caliber and to fall through the cracks extra sucks because if you can’t do it for him who can you do it for?”

When you said goodbye at elimination you hugged the other girls. Does that mean the drama between you all was played up for the camera or was there genuine tension there?
“There was real drama but considering the fact we are there day-to-day… I know myself that I don’t hold a grudge and I guess the other girls might have felt the same way. It was seriously a rollercoaster. One day was like, ‘Hey Kacey!’ the next was, ‘Don’t talk to Kacey’. It was just depending on the day and the girls’ moods. I gave them all a hug, of course they probably didn’t care and it didn’t matter! But I felt the need to give a hug.”

It seemed to be you versus everybody else at times. How did you find actually living at the house and being surrounding by it?
“Unfortunately, it sucked. There is no way around it. It sucked being the one that no-one was in your corner and no-one cared to hear your opinion or side of the story; that’s what it came down to. The reason no-one was on my side was that no-one gave me a chance to hear my story – there’s more than one side to every story – and no-one listened. It sucked but at the end of the day it made me stronger. It was like, ‘OK, Kacey, you’re not going to have a companion’, and I think me not caring about having a companion in the house also rubbed them the wrong way like, ‘She doesn’t care about being our friend so forget her anyway’. It was a lot of crap but I thought I handled myself well.”

How have you found it watching the show back and hearing what the other girls have said in their individual interviews?
“I know! That’s been interesting! I don’t know what they are saying behind closed doors so watching it on TV was like, ‘Ohhhh, what!?’ I thought for the most part it might be Lexie or Liz maybe, but even Liz; I was shocked at what Liz was saying; Kendal; Kayla; all of them! It was like, ‘Wow! No-one was my friend!’ That was a shocker! I didn’t talk mess and I can talk mess! I told them not to talk mess because I didn’t want to go that route so that was a shocker!”

Do you have any regrets about your time on the show?
“I don’t have any regrets. I’m very pleased with how it turned out. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t make it all the way because I really, really wanted to, but I have no regrets. Even all the hatred and the fights I would do all over again. It was my experience and I feel like it was like that for a reason.”

What do you think of how you’ve been portrayed?
“There were some things that made me seem like I’m a way that I’m not really but I’m not going to blame the editing and cutting; they can only put out there what you give them. I’m not tripping about it. At the end of the day, my friends and family know what I am and that is all that matters.”

What was happening between you and Shaw? It seemed to be hinting towards something…
“Like, I said in all my interviews I wasn’t going to pull a Shandi, if you’ve watched past seasons ofTop Model! It was just straight-up a little flirt. He thought I was cute and I thought he was cute because he is very cute; that’s really all it was. It was played up and even all the girls were like, ‘Oh my God, she’s flirting with a guy!'”

What did your boyfriend think?
“He didn’t appreciate it! He was more, ‘Uhh’, about it though because the world was seeing it. I had to reassure him and go over that with him. He’s cool now and he actually knows the guy.”

Will you continue to model?
“The next step for me is just practicing like Tyra told me to do; looking in the mirror, reading magazines and watching fashion TV. Then I’ll go out there on my own. I definitely won’t give up! I’m going to make it! In two or three years’ time I do plan to be on the cover of some fashionista magazine because I feel like I have it in me and I know I have what you need. Top Model wasn’t my path to get there but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to get there.”

To learn more about Cycle 15‘s Kacey Leggett, visit her bio page here.

October 18, 2010

ANTM Exclusive Interview: Kacey Blames Her Exit on Her Time of the Month

After proving herself in two challenge wins, Cycle 15’s loudmouth and troublemaker got sent home this week for a less-than-stellar photo shoot with the Patrick Demarchelier. Kacey had serious model potential and we were a little surprised to see her go. The silver, glittery lining? That we’d get to ask her all about her hot male model flirt session and why Lexie despised her so very much. Read on for every juicy detail, including her (TMI) reasoning for why this photo shoot didn’t go so well for her…

Were you confident that your challenge wins would take you to the next round?

Yeah, winning the runway challenge proved that you could walk and the CoverGirl challenge proved that you could talk, so winning both of those challenges, I definitely thought it was gonna save me. Even if I did fall flat in that particular photo shoot, I didn’t think I had bad photo shoots consistently. They smacked me down for messing up once. That was confusing.

Why do you think this photo shoot didn’t go so well for you?

When I was there — I don’t know if you wanna hear this, it might be too much information — but that time of the month was coming, and your mood is always gonna change, and my biggest fear is something happening while it’s the time of the month. So that was definitely in my head going on and making me trip out a lot, but mostly it was taking a lot of direction and forgetting what worked best for me. I thought to please everyone else but I totally forgot what looks best on me. That’s the only thing I can think of why I fell flat.

So female troubles got in the way there?

Yeah…

Were you nervous in front of Patrick like the other girls?

I knew of him, of course, but I wasn’t star struck like some of the other girls. I know Chelsey was over-the-top star struck. I was excited to be in the presence of his, but being in that presence I don’t think it affected me. It was just other things going on.

Were you surprised by how big of a deal it was when you invited the male models over?

It was something I would’ve done if I weren’t on the show. If I meet cool people and I wanna chill, let’s go chill. I didn’t think it was alarming. All the girls were trippin’ about it, I don’t know why. I didn’t see a problem with it at all. It wasn’t just me. It did kinda seem like it was just me that was over-the-top excited, but some of the other girls were like “Ooohh, the guys are coming over.” It was everybody. But I’ll take the rap for it.

Looking back on it, did it seem like you were flirting a lot with your male model partner, Shaw?

Considering being a girlfriend I might have been flirting a little bit too much, but it was harmless flirting. It was just like, “Oh, I think you’re cute,” he thinks I’m cute, and that was really it. No touchy feely – I didn’t pull a Shandi [the Cycle 2 model, who cheated on her BF on ANTM and famously broke down and called him to confess]. It was nothing out of the norm to really be alarming about.

What did your boyfriend back home think of you flirting with Shaw?

He wasn’t happy with it. He was like, “Oh my god.” He wasn’t happy with it at all. But I reassured him, like, “Babe, it’s OK.” He’s still to this day not happy about it. I got in trouble.

When you were there, were you thinking about how he’s gonna see it?

Yeah, of course, it was going through my mind. That’s why nothing did – I mean that’s not why – I shouldn’t say that [giggles]. But I’m not stupid. I’m not gonna do something that I shouldn’t do. And he’s kind of the jealous type, anyway. Any little thing I do is really gonna be a problem

Have you kept in touch with Shaw?

I’ve talked to him maybe twice or so after the show, but it was just little small talk, like a few texts, nothing big.

What did he think of the show?

He was actually asking for the pictures and stuff. I was like, “Boy, you better go on the Internet and blow them up that way.” I was like, “You can get your own, knock it off.”

Have you kept in touch with any of the girls?

No, I’m not talking to any of the girls.

Were you surprised to see what Lexie had to say about you behind closed doors?

Oh my god, yeah. Talk about I’m fake? But I’m not gonna get into it with that girl. It takes two to act a fool and I’m gonna just let her act a fool by herself. She’s actually giving me pretty good publicity because she talks about me so much. She’s actually one of my best advertisements so I’ll just continue to let her do her thing.

What was your motive for calling Lexie out during casting?

She kept saying she confided in me but number 1: why would you confide into someone you didn’t like? She didn’t confide in me. Whenever there’s no cameras we don’t really talk about the competition because we want it to be seen on TV. We were roommates, we were talking about it behind closed doors, so we were like, “Let’s just stop talking about it. We will bring it back up when we get in front of everybody so it can be on TV where the cameras are.” So she agreed to that. When it was happening, I stuck to the agreement and she either flaked out or got nervous or whatever, but she agreed to talk about it.

But do you think Lexie knew that you meant you’d talk about not liking Jordan while Jordan was in the room?

She agreed to bring it back up in front of everyone. That’s why I was so shocked that she was like, “You brought my business up!” I can’t knock some sense into her if that’s what she believes, that’s what she can believe. She posts it everywhere. She has a YouTube and stuff and it’s kinda cute how I’m her center of attention, so I’ll continue to let her talk about me and do her thing.

Were you yelling at the TV when you saw her talking about you?

I had more my friends and family yelling at the TV more than me. I don’t hold grudges. If I saw her today I would shake her hand. It takes more energy to hold a grudge than to let it go.

Were you happy overall with how you were portrayed on TV?

There were some things I wasn’t pleased with but overall, that’s what I gave to them and that’s what they put out. Overall I was OK with it. There were a lot of things where I was like, “WHAT! That’s not true.”

What didn’t you think was true?

How the fights were. The fights were shown the beginning and the end. We missed the meat of the argument. They really really didn’t show any of me talking and interacting with the girls. I might have not been a favorite but I wasn’t a complete outcast.

What was your most embarrassing moment on the show?

I’ve had glasses for a long time and I have darkness under my eyes because I used to wash my face with a Brillo pad and on top of that, I do have bags because it’s unfortunately genetic and my mom had bags. It was so embarrassing watching myself on TV with luggage underneath my eyes because it’s my personal issue and the world magnified my personal issue.

Were the girls feeling defeated about Ann getting best photo every week?

Yeah, everybody liked her but it was like, “Dang it, come on. Release the first spot!” But she deserved it.

Do you think she could win?

I actually do think she could win. She definitely has the Top Model journey that they love so much. They love turning ugly ducklings into beautiful swans and she is considered the little duckling that’s gonna be the fashionista supermodel. I think she could definitely win.

Who are you rooting for?

I’m rooting for Jane. Go Jane. She’s cool, she’s beautiful.

Were you guys close in the house?

Out of everybody else — I wasn’t really close with anybody — but she was one of the first who actually listened to a story or anything had to say regarding the mess that was in the house. She gave me a chance.

What are you up to now?

I’m just chillin’ right now. I hope to have some things in the making, but right now I’m just enjoying Top Model and reminiscing about how I was on the show, then I’ll kick it back into gear.

But you want to be a model?

Of course, I can’t stop. That was a teaser. Because I didn’t make it all the way I just want more.

To learn more about Cycle 15‘s Kacey Leggett, visit her bio page here.